Hi everyone...i have been with my company a little over a year now and took it upon myself to ask for a yearly review to get a feel for how i am doing and make sure i am living up to my employers expectations.
I finally got one (my company is pretty small and informal marketing and design firm) and got rave reviews...which is great! I went into it thinking i would since i have worked really really hard and always go above and beyond. I was also hoping it would go well because I was hoping for a raise since i am a newly wed and trying to save for a house...not to mention since i feel i have really proven my worth and diligence at my company.
Well i did get one, and its about a $3000 raise. Which of course i am thrilled, but still a little unsure because the average for my city salary and my experience is at least $10,000 more than im making even with the raise...but i wanted your opinions because maybe the research ive done isnt a good reflection of the economic times or maybe i am just expecting too much by thinking i should have more.
Would you just be happy and put in another year, or start looking and see if i cant get a more competitive salary?
Thanks in advance!
Re: yearly review and a raise?
I have a lot of thoughts about this post:
1. If you knew the salary was low, did you try to negotiate going into the job, or just hope you'd eventually get a raise?
2. How often do people get raises where you work? Is what you're seeing pretty typical?
3. It never hurts to see what else is out there. But depending on where you're doing your research, the salaries could be skewed.
4. I factor in more than just salary into whether to stay at a job. Things like the commute, work/life balance, opportunities for advancement, benefits, perks, etc. can often be worth more than a few extra grand.
5. A lot of people aren't even getting raises, and are just happy with job security
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
When i took the position i was still in college with about a month left so i took it because alot of graduates the year before me didnt get a job and still dont have jobs. So i understood why it was lower since they were taking a risk on me.
I was hoping id get a raise, but would have asked if it wasnt brought up, but when it was didnt want to be like well, thats not really enough...how about more only because they did bring up the bad economy in a different conversation just prior to my review (it was kinda small talk before we began but got the feeling it could be an explanation why i am not getting more??)
i do love where i am...the commute can be really bad but its not so bad when there is no traffic and id say its 50/50. Opportunity for advancement just isnt there right now but i only have 1 real year not including my 2 years of internship experience (paid) while in school.
and i know about job security which is why i feel guilty posting this since so many people are struggling and why i didnt want to say i feel i deserve more. But i just did a huge national campaign that made our firm quite a bit of dough and reputation...i cant say who its with out of client confidentiality but i art directed it myself which is when i felt like i should be making closer to the average or 75% percentile salary which is lower 40's and not the bottom 25% which is lower 30's.
Those were more rhetorical questions.
Sounds like you took the job without negotiating, and there's no way they're going to give you a $10K raise, esp in this economy as you noted.
See what's out there. Maybe you'll find something better.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
Unfortunately, it is a ROUGH economy out there. Even companies that have never had to worry too much about budget plans, etc. are FREAKING out. Trust me, I can attest to that as I work for an extremely well off company that has grown so much over the past 10 years. I work in HR and I constantly hear about our "bad revenue" months and how we can't hire or approve promotions during these times. I am lucky that I was promoted a few months ago BEFORE that happened.
As much as you probably are going to hate to hear this, I think you are lucky that you got a raise at all! I know I was THRILLED when I got a raise at my promotion because I honestly wasn't sure if it would just be a title change. The fact you got a raise at all shows they value what you have done... again, especially in this economy.
I'd stick it out. Was this your first review? If so, DEFINITELY wait. My first review I had a much smaller raise than expected... but when I got my promotion it was quite significant.
And congrats on getting one! You should be proud. (: